Ginola had stopped breathing completely and had even swallowed his tongue. It took the use of a defibrillator to revive him.

Earlier that year, ex-Spurs coach Ugo Ehiogu suddenly died following a heart attack which happened at the club's training ground. Marc Vivian-Foe, formerly of Manchester City and West Ham , also passed away on the pitch while playing in the Confederations Cup in 2003.

"Someone on the football pitch - thank god for that - was able to perform CPR," Ginola added.

"There were 15 people there, but only one or two were able to perform CPR.